Her Dark Past, Her Bright Future
by lovelystarz
Summary: Lennox Cameron was the go to investigator at Pearson Hardman but she hadn't always been on the right side of the law. Until she met a young Harvey Specter. Lennox had secrets and she was hiding a dark past which linked her to Harvey and his time at the District Attorney's office and her past was directly tied to the reason why Harvey left the DA's and went to Pearson Hardman.
1. Chapter 1

_Early mornings, crappy coffee, corporate offices and late nights._ Those were pretty much the words that summed up Lennox Cameron working with one of the biggest law firms in New York City; Pearson Hardman. You could say that it was Lennox's place of business but that was stretching the truth a bit as Lennox was an investigator, she did most of the hard work for lawyers so they didn't have to but she didn't exactly work for Pearson Hardman. She would consider them to be her clients in a weird way as Lennox was more of a freelance investigator but primarily most of her work was for Pearson Hardman. Lennox occasionally did work for other individuals but most of her work derived from the business that she did with Pearson Hardman or more importantly Harvey Specter. Most of the work Lennox did was for Harvey, she was his go to investigator and he was her boss in a round about way, at Pearson Hardman there was only two people who Lennox answered to; Harvey and the managing partner Jessica Pearson. It was all a bit confusing but Lennox knew where she stood, she knew who she reported to and she knew that she would help out the other partners and their associates on cases but whatever Harvey needed came first and took priority over everything. That's what brought Lennox to Pearson Hardman this morning and as the elevator doors opened she stepped out onto the floor humming along with the music that was currently playing in her ear curtsey of her earphones and the pocket sized ipod that was nestled into her jacket pocket. Like always the offices of Pearson Hardman was bustling as always but Lennox paid no attention as she coasted through the office hallways, well aware that she was a stark contrast to all the lawyers in their overprices suits, very well groomed appearances compared to Lennox with her plaid shirt, leather jacket, ripped jeans and beat up boots. Not to mention Lennox's blonde hair that was pulled into a messy ponytail and the chipped nail polish on her nails, they weren't exactly signs of a professional. Lennox definitely stood out from the crowd here at Pearson Hardman but if Lennox actually cared about what people thought of her appearance, she wouldn't be making the big bucks. Sometimes Lennox found it hard to believe that she was working for a bunch of overpaid lawyers as she pretty much hated lawyers growing up, she had quite the complicated history with them in her past.

Skulking down the hallways of Pearson Hardman, Lennox couldn't help but let out a stifling yawn as she could have done with another few hours of sleep. God Lennox hated early mornings, she much liked her sleep but for every early morning that Lennox had, there was always a late night to go with it. But that was all part of the job and Lennox wouldn't be getting paid the big bunks and be able to bill her clients such hefty sums if there wasn't any sacrifices on her part although given how little of a real life Lennox had, you couldn't really say she sacrificed much for her job. Workaholic and married to the job were strong words that could be used in associated with Lennox, not that she minded as this was the life she had chosen for herself and from day one she knew that this life would entail. Sure this life hadn't been the life that Lennox had imagined for herself as a little girl but back then, Lennox hadn't even been sure that she would make it to twenty six when she was a kid. Funny how things turned out and it was all down to one Harvey Reginald Spencer, which was exactly the man who Lennox was here to see. However to get to Harvey, she needed to get past the woman who stood between them as of this moment.

"Morning Donna, you are looking as radiant as ever if I may so, it seems like life as the executive assistant to the newest senior partner seems to be suiting you rather well." Lennox began in a warm manner as she approached the cubicle where Harvey's loyal assistant Donna worked from, Lennox smiled at the brilliantly quick witted red head who she had known almost as long as she knew Harvey. Donna was more than just an assistant to Harvey, she practically ran the man's life and knew Harvey better than the man himself. Donna was a force to be reckoned with and Lennox knew it, which is why she always made an effort to stay on Donna's good side.

"Oh Lennox! You always know exactly the right thing to say, so go ahead the big man's waiting for you." Donna replied with a bright smile and Lennox gave the red head a mock salute before moving past Donna's cubicle towards the glass door that led to Harvey's office. As Lennox moved to the door, she couldn't help note that the door now read under Harvey's name _Senior Partner_. There was this odd feeling in Lennox's chest, it was warm and fuzzy and she could have sworn that she was feeling pride over the well deserved promotion that Harvey so truly deserved and why shouldn't Lennox feel proud? After all Harvey had pretty much saved her skin twelve years ago and straightened her out so that she resembled something of an actual person. She owed that man big time in more ways than one. Glancing through the see through door Lennox caught sigh of Harvey who hadn't noticed her as he was too busy talking to some scrawny brat in a suit to take notice that she was there. Lennox couldn't help but take a brief moment to reminisce as she looked at Harvey talking away, Harvey was a far cry from the man that she had met all those years ago. He was older, mature and even more arrogant if that was even possible and Harvey was sure dressing a lot more sharper than he did back when he was working in the district attorney's office.

Having enough of her sentiments about Harvey and his new promotion, Lennox pushed open the door to Harvey's office without bothering to knock as she always did when she came to see Harvey. Lennox never understood the whole knocking on door thing as the way she saw things, doors were meant to be opened and gone through and not knocked on. That way of thinking hadn't served Lennox in the best of ways given that she had run into trouble with the law with her in regards to trespassing but that was all in the past and more importantly there was no trace of it on her records. Once again that was due to the work of Harvey Specter.

"Harvey." Lennox greeted in a rather curt and formal manner as she strode into the spacious office and went about making herself settled and rather comfortable on one of Harvey's couches. This was going to be one the few times today that Lennox was going to be able to sit down for a small while as Lennox currently juggling five cases and on her way out of Pearson Hardman she needed to swing by Louis Litt's office as word had gotten to Lennox that the junior partner had wanted to see her. Lennox knew that Harvey and Louis weren't exactly the best of buds and whilst Lennox's loyalty did lay with Harvey and whilst his cases always took priority with her, it didn't mean that Lennox couldn't take Louis' money especially since that every time Lennox helped Louis out with a case, she was allowed to take certain liberties with her fee and often got paid in the five figure region.

"Lenny." Harvey replied in an equally curt manner but Lennox could see that small smile in the corner of his mouth that let her known that Harvey was happy to see her not to mention he was using his personal nickname for her. Never in a million years had did Lennox think that she would end up being friends with a man like Harvey Specter given that she hadn't exactly been too fond of him the first time they met. Well that was an understatement as Lennox had very much disliked Harvey for the first six months she knew him as he stood for everything that she hated. The two of them were complete opposites and everything about them suggested that the two of them shouldn't get along as Harvey was a real smooth operator, a pretty damn good lawyer who was known as the best closer in New York and earned more money than Lennox would ever earn in her next two lifetimes, then there was Lennox. She was more scrappy, more unpredictable of the two, who did things to the beat of her own drum regardless and gave little to no thought to much in her life. Lennox was a bit of a wildcard who was only well mannered towards people she liked and she didn't have quite the impressive reputation as Harvey did. Lennox's rather lax manners weren't the only thing that separated her and Harvey, their worlds were so different in every single way. Harvey had attended college and then gone onto graduate 5th in his class at Harvard Law whereas Lennox hadn't done either, her education had been pretty spotty as best and her job wasn't as glamorous as Harvey's with even less perks but she knew that Harvey had never once looked down at what Lennox did for a living. Lennox knew that she was smart enough to become a lawyer and could do it if she wanted to but she liked what she did for the most part and Harvey was one of the few people to understand. Most of the other lawyers that Lennox helped out couldn't understand why anybody wouldn't want to be a lawyer, it seemed like having a huge overblown ego with a god complex to boot came with being a lawyer especially when you were a Harvard Law graduate which was the case with every partner or associate at Pearson Hardman.

"So whose the baby in the suit?" Lennox questioned tilting her head to the side, in the direction of Harvey's companion who had been in here having a conversation with him prior to her arrival. At first glance Lennox had thought of him as a scrawny brat when she saw him through the glass doors and Lennox could she that she was still right as this guy was on the skinny side with a skinny tie to match his skinny frame. He was pretty cute with short brown hair and blue eyes that seemed to twinkle, that much he had going for himself Lennox couldn't help but think to herself however she quickly moved on from that as lawyers were so not her type and she kept business and pleasure separate as she had a pretty good gig going for her here at Pearson Hardman and Lennox wasn't going to screw it up for anyone.

"My new associate."

"I guess it's not worth me learning his name then?" Lennox questioned with a raised brow as normally she didn't like to deal with the associates as they were pretty low on the social/career totem poll at Pearson Hardman. But that didn't mean that Lennox didn't have any interactions with them although she tried her hardest to keep them to a minimum, preferring to deal with the partners of the firm as it meant that Lennox didn't have to hold their hand and wipe their snotty noses when they couldn't figure things out. Not to mention it was the partners who were paying for Lennox's services. However most of these associates never seemed to register on Harvey's radar but yet this particular one had and it piped Lennox's interests as if Harvey was giving this associate the time of day then maybe he was worthy of her time despite looking like a scrawny college kid in way over his head. Looks could be deceiving as Lennox well knew.

"Ordinarily that would be the case, you known that I don't like spending time with the associates Lennox especially first years but this kid? Not so bad, in fact I think you may actually like him."

"Is that so?"

"Would I ever steer you wrong?" Harvey questioned and Lennox pursed her lips together as Harvey did have her there. She trusted this man with her life and Lennox would follow Harvey to the end of the world without him having to ask her.

"You guys do realize I'm here? I can hear you both."

"He speaks! That's a very good sign Harvey, normally these associates just squawk in fear until they finally learn how to use their words and that's normally for another year or so." Lennox quipped with a small smile as she looked over to the so-called new associate, despite his babyface Lennox knew that there had to be something special about him for Harvey to take him on as his associate. For someone like Harvey Specter who had such refine taste and a rather demanding attitude along with the need to be the best, his associate couldn't be some wallowing shrinking violent. Harvey Specter's associate had to be made from something special.

"Mike Ross meet Lennox Cameron, Pearson Hardman's go to investigator and one of the few people here besides me who have the ability to make your life a living hell if you get on her wrong side. Now don't be fooled by those angelic good looks as behind that blonde hair and that butter wouldn't melt smile, is a woman who is no angel. Now Lennox can be the difference between winning a case and epically losing it. Whilst Lennox is here to help out the firm she does not work for you and if you treat her right then she will give you everything you need but if you don't treat her right then the shit's gonna hit the fan and I'll be pissed. Not only because you've pissed Lennox off but I'll have to clean up your mess which I really don't want to be doing. Other than that Lennox will do whatever you need her to do within reason. Any time your in trouble or you think that your going to be in trouble, don't call me. Call Lennox and she'll get you out of it and depending on how bad things are then she'll call me, day or night she's your go to girl." Harvey explained making the introductions and then some and Lennox was very pleased to hear that Harvey was explaining to Mike how she operated because Lennox didn't have time to be explaining everything as in her line of work, time was money and she didn't have money to waste.

"Shark attack? Call Lennox, got it." Mike replied with a small nod of his head and Lennox couldn't help but laugh as most people wouldn't have realized that was a joke. Most of the laywers that Lennox came across were pretty stuck up and in a dire need of having a large stick pulled out from their ass. It was nice to see a lawyer who was capable of taking a joke, Lennox found it rather refreshing.

"I think your right Harvey, he's not too bad for an associate although I'll hold off on saying anything else on the matter." Lennox replied with a wry smile before she noticed from the corner of her eye that Mike was looking at her, or rather her ear in a not so subtle manner. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Mike was staring at her hearing aid, it wasn't anything new to Lennox as people couldn't help but stare at the hearing aid, it was as if they couldn't believe that someone like her required a hearing aid. "You know Mike, I may be deaf in one ear but my eyes work perfectly fine."

"Sorry."

"Don't be, it's fine." Lennox quickly replied, brushing the whole thing to the side as she was fine with the whole deaf thing and went to a whole lot of effort into not making it into a big thing. So Lennox was deaf in one ear, it didn't mean that she couldn't function just as well as another person. As long as people didn't start speaking with raised voices when they spoke to her, like she was hard of hearing or some kind of idiot, then Lennox could deal with people starting at her and the hearing aid that was nestled in her right ear.

"So what do you have for me Lennox?" Harvey questioned and Lennox let out a low whistle as she reached into her messenger bag and pulled out a file before holding it out for Harvey to take it and have a look. Lennox couldn't help but note the surprise look on Harvey's face over the size of the file which was quite thick in size, even bigger than usual as when Lennox did a background check she dug deep as her job required her to dig deep so there wouldn't be any surprise come up if Harvey went to trial.

"Well your guy's a bit of dick but I'm pretty sure we all knew that before I looked into him and putting my personal opinion aside, I think you'll be happy with what I have. Your client is Gareth McKeen born here in Manhattan on 06/22/1954 to Brandon and Lois McKeen who were owners of a hardware store. Mother's maiden name is Hewitt, parents were married in Atlantic City in Summer of 1947. McKeen is the youngest of three, has an older brother Clark and older sister Nora borin in 1948 and 1951 respectively. McKeen attended public school before going on to Yale to get his bachelors degree in business followed by his M.B.A at Columbia. McKeen married first wife Julia Mayfield, daughter of Rupert and Sandra Mayfield in 1979. Unlike her husband, the first Mrs. McKeen came from money and McKeen used a hefty sum of her inheritance to bankroll the first of his real estate companies. The McKeen's have three children Edward, Susan and Allison, born in 1982, 84 and 87. Background checks on the kids came back clean enough, some minor stuff but nothing of real interest. Julia McKeen filed for divorce in 1990 on the ground of adultery, in the first of what would be repeated behaviour, McKeen was having an affair with his assistant. McKeen then went on to marry the said former assistant Fiona Marsden in 1991, marriage was over by the spring of 92'. From there on it was numerous court appearances for McKeen over lack of payment for child support, alimony and all that kind of stuff which got pretty messy and cost McKeen a lot. Come late 2000, McKeen meets Jane Cooper who soon became the third Mrs. McKeen after a whirlwind romance of four months. Since then McKeen had been keeping his nose down, trying to keep his personal life out of the papers…"

"And?"

"Like I said, the guy has a thing for assistants and it seems like the current Mrs. McKeen is well aware of that as his last five assistants have all been fired and according to the office rumor mill, it's all due to McKeen's wondering eye. Apart from the fact that McKeen can't keep it in his pants, there was nothing of real interest about him. But then I looked deeper as like I said the guy's a dick and he is not the squeaky clean family guy he makes himself out to be. Some of it's your general Mickey Mouse stuff, a few tickets here and there for speeding, weekly appointments with a woman called Miss Crystal - Not exactly a high end call girl but your guy is pretty cheap from what I've seen when he was been taken to court by the first Mrs. McKeen over failed child support payments. The guy could afford to cheat on his wives with secretaries in high end hotels but wouldn't hand over a dime in child support. Instead of handing over the money, McKeen would just chose to fight the matter, hiring the most expensive lawyers he could buy to make sure he wouldn't have to pay a cent. Never worked as the judges always sided with the former Mrs. McKeen but that didn't stop your guy from trying. Oh and most importantly your guy is broke and I mean broke as in MC Hammer broke. His company may have a face value for $120 million but McKeen himself doesn't have a dime to his name. I'd have to call in a few favours but I'm guessing that McKeen has to be taking money from the company to keep bankrolling his lifestyle. I told you he was a dick…"

"Wow, that's impressive." Mike said with a small whistle and Lennox allowed herself to smirk as that was nothing. Lennox had gotten all of that information on Gareth McKeen in just over thirty five hours and she had to admit that it wasn't some of her best work. Although she would take the praise, as a little praise was good for the soul. Too much praise and Lennox's ego would get a bit too big for her to handle.

"When I do a job, I don't do it half arsed." Lennox quipped from where she sat before idly looking down to her chipped nail polish. Work was the only thing that Lennox pretty much in her life, she had no family and no actual people she called call friends baring Harvey and maybe Donna. Lennox had nothing except for work and because of that she took her work seriously. The only reason Lennox had this job was because Harvey offered her a second chance if she fixed up her act and she wasn't going to let him down. Her strong work ethic was due to Harvey and if he hadn't drilled that into her years ago, Lennox knew that she would have probably ended up back in jail or dead like some of the people she used to hang out with

"Do you have the proof?" Harvey questioned and Lennox looked away from her nails and back over to Harvey. She knew why he was asking this, Harvey wouldn't be able to use what she had given him unless Lennox had proof as Harvey wouldn't risk perjuring himself. He wouldn't do anything with what Lennox had given him unless she had the evidence to back it up.

"There's proof in the file that McKeen's broke, all those alimony and child supports payments have taken a lot of his money, along with numerous settlements in the six figure regions with his former assistants. Apparently those were severance packages yet they were coming out of McKeen's personal accounts and not the companies accounts but McKeen was paying them off to keep quiet about being fired by his wife over his indiscretions with them. I don't have the proof that McKeen is stealing from his own company but I can get it, I'll just need a little bit of time…" Lennox wearily said as she scratched the back of her head before waiting to see what Harvey would say, to find out what he wanted her to do next.

"Mike give us a moment." Harvey said after a moment and Lennox watched as Harvey gave Mike some look that she couldn't deceiver but his tone suggested not to argue with him. Lennox couldn't help but let out a sigh as she was pretty sure that she was in trouble although she wasn't exactly sure what she was in trouble for, although she knew that she would be finding out soon. All Lennox could do was sit and watch as Mike wordlessly left Harvey's office without even a second glance at her, just leaving Lennox alone with Harvey. Here came whatever lecture was coming Lennox's way. It had been a while since Lennox had been on a receiving end of a Harvey Specter lecture. "How did you get this information?"

"You know how." Lennox retorted as she didn't like where Harvey was going with this, he was asking her without actually saying the words, if she had obtained all this information illegally. Lennox actually felt offended by that as she did her job within the letter of the law or coloured within the lines as it was quite often described by Harvey. Lennox had a history that was pretty colourful and she had been in trouble with the law previously and one of the conditions of her working for Harvey was that they did everything by legal means, there was to be no tampering with any facts of evidence or breaking the law as means to win a case. Lennox understood that as it was one of the many reason why Harvey was perhaps the only lawyer that Lennox trusted. It was that trust that Lennox had in Harvey which meant that she would always do her job the way he wanted, sure there were a lot of easier ways for Lennox to do her job which some ways were illegally and the others morally questionably but she never did as long ago, a much younger Lennox Cameron had promised Harvey that she would be good and she had meant it and had no intention of breaking that promise.

"You went off the grid, you can't blame me for asking." Harvey admitted and Lennox just pursed her lips. She couldn't believe that all of this was over her being unreachable for a few days? Lennox had this thing where sometimes she wanted to be left alone, sometimes it was because she was working on a particular case for the firm, sometimes it was simply because she needed to get out of her own head for a while and to do those she had to disappear. Harvey referred to it as Lennox 'going off the grid' as at those time Lennox was damn near impossible to reach, you could only find her when she wanted to be found.

"I was gone for three days Harvey, I would like to think that it would be no big deal anymore considering that I am no longer a child anymore. If you case you've forgotten I'm twenty six years old. It's been twelve years Harvey, I'm not the same person I used to be. I've changed, you made sure of that. I've just got a lot of cases on my plate at the moment and I needed some time to get them done without having someone here calling me every ten minutes because they can't get off their ass and do something for themselves instead of calling me to do it. I'm not a performing money Harvey, there's only one of me and about god knows how many lawyers outside this office all wanting me to do them some favour so they can win their cases. I didn't get into any trouble if that's what your worried about Harvey, I didn't do anything illegal. I kept colouring within the lines and behaved myself." Lennox replied in a venomous tone of voice as she awkwardly tugged at her right ear lobe.

"Lenny you know I didn't mean it like that–"

"Sure you didn't. No matter how old I get, no matter how much I've grown up and changed, there will always be a part of you that will always see me as that troubled street kid who you found in juvie and felt bad for because life had handed her a crappy deal before she lost her hearing in one ear." Lennox retorted and the look that Harvey gave her, let Lennox know that she had just hit him with a low blow.

"Hey! That is not fair! I have never seen you as just some deaf kid and you know it Lennox." Harvey quickly replied and Lennox just sighed before she rose to her feet and walked over to Harvey and she looked at him momentary before quietly starting to chuckle.

"Harvey Specter! When will you ever learn? You always fall for the deaf kid line, even after all these years…" Lennox quipped with an over exaggerated manner and a wicked grin which just caused Harvey to roll his eyes and Lennox to laugh. Sometimes it was too easy for her to wind Harvey up and push all his buttons.

"You think you are so funny Lennox but that joke got old years ago." Harvey drily said, trying to keep his composure but despite the façade he was putting on for her, Lennox could see the small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He was amused.

"Correction, I think you'll find that we both know that I'm funny but you just won't admit it because you like to put up this aloof front for everyone Harvey. I know that you worry about me when I take off but there is no need to anymore Harvey. I have no intention of going back to the person that I used to be. So relax Harvey, lighten up and spend less time worrying about me and focus on that associate of yours as he is a reflection on you whereas I'm not. So have fun with potty training him and wiping his nose because the perks of me not officially working here at Pearson Hardman, means that you have to take of the baby suit and not me!" Lennox stated in a singsong manner which caused Harvey to roll his eyes at her in bemusement. Now that Lennox had done her job and given Harvey all the information she had got on Gareth McKeen, it was now time for her to get going as she still had a few more cases on her dock and she still needed to go see Louis Litt and the sooner she saw him, the quicker she could get the meeting over and done with and leave Pearson Hardman. Chuckling to herself, Lennox reached into her bag and pulled out a rather flat squared shaped objected that was in a brown paper bag and she handed it over to Harvey.

"What's this?" Harvey questioned as he looked at the item that Lennox handed him and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes as it was clear to both of them that the said object was a vinyl record in a paper bag. Lennox knew that she probably could have wrapped it up a lot nicer but she wasn't really the kind of person who kept wrapping paper around nor was she the kind of person who put much effort into wrapping gifts. Regardless of how it looked, a gift was still a gift.

"It's a gift for you. Did you really think that I wouldn't get you anything for making senior partner? I just had to make you sweat a bit." Lennox quipped with a wicked smile which caused Harvey to quietly laugh. Knowing that she had her fun with Harvey for the day and they both needed to get back to work, her more so than Harvey given that Lennox's billable hours were nowhere near as high as Harvey's. Giving her only friend a warm small and a small wave, Lennox made her way past Harvey and headed out of his office. Lennox allowed herself to take a moment to watch as Harvey opened the paper bag to see what record Lennox had given him – he'd like it, that much Lennox knew as even though she didn't know everything about Harvey Specter, she knew that he liked good music and that was perhaps the only thing they had in common so Lennox knew that record she brought him would soon enough be joining all the other records that Harvey kept in his office.

Walking away from Harvey's office, Lennox reached into her bad and pulled out a notepad and pen and quickly scribbled down something that she needed to remember to do, once she got out of here.

 _Look into Mike Ross – ASAP._


	2. Chapter 2

Darkness was something that Lennox was very much used to. A long time ago when Lennox was still a child, she used to be scared stiff of the dark and she used to dread it when the sun would set as that would mean the dark was coming. Lennox was too old to remember what exactly it was about the dark that had made her so afraid when she was younger but it was something that she no longer feared. Back when Lennox was ten years old, she sought to rid herself of her fear of the dark and proceeded to lock herself in a broom cupboard. Lennox thought that she had been in there forever, it seemed like she had been in the cupboard for weeks as she was surrounded by pitch black darkness. There was no light, just darkness everywhere and at the time Lennox just wanted to escape and leave the cupboard and go back to somewhere that was well lit. But as much as Lennox wanted to flee, she was too scared to actually move and ended up spending the six most scariest hours of her life of her own doing, locked in a brook cupboard. Since that night Lennox had never been afraid of the dark and the dark soft of became something of a comfort to Lennox as whilst she continued to bounce around the foster care system like a bouncy ball, whenever Lennox got scared or hurt she would always found some dark corner to go hide in. It always managed to help Lennox calm down and gather her thoughts. Darkness was something that Lennox had carried around with herself ever since she was a child, it was something that she carried with her ever since she was a child, Lennox had never really been like most little girls. She had never dreamt of growing up and being some kind of princess, Lennox had spent most of her tender years dreaming of escaping the life that she had been born to, praying that she wouldn't end up like all the other kids who ended up as lost causes. But she hadn't been so lucky and it seemed like the darkness had started off as a fear of the dark and escalated from there and the darkness in Lennox's heart stemmed from her childhood and her even more troubled adolescence

Taking a trip down memory lane was the last thing that Lennox wanted to do as she liked to keep her past where it firmly belonged and that was in the past. She didn't even have energy to think about who fractured her life had been as Lennox was exhausted. Both physically and mentally exhausted and it seemed like this day had gone on forever and the end was still not in sight as there was one more thing that Lennox needed to do before she could go home for the day. Sitting in a very dimly lit room didn't seem to help Lennox, it just made her want to curl up and fall asleep in this overprized and terribly uncomfortable chair that she was sitting in but instead she just kept tossing back energy drinks in an effort to stay awake. For the first time in what seemed like a very long time, Lennox felt older than her twenty six years as what she had stumbled across in the last few days troubled her deeply. It was so bad that Lennox was sitting in Harvey's condo waiting for the man himself to come back from wherever the hell he had wondered off to after his work day had finished. Today had been a particularly bad day for Lennox but she had refused to go home and get some rest, she wouldn't go home until she had spoken to Harvey. Lennox needed to speak to Harvey in person and so she figured that this was the best place to wait for him as sooner or later Harvey was going to have to return here. They couldn't have this conversation in the office, it was too public for Lennox and Harvey to have the discussion they needed to have and there was way too many people idly walking around and you never knew who was listening. There was no way in hell that Harvey was going to drag his ass up to Lennox's fifth floor walk up in Brooklyn given that he thought it looked like the health department and CDC needed to declare it uninhabitable so that meant that Lennox had to wait for Harvey at his place. It was a good thing that Lennox had a key to Harvey's condo otherwise she would end up receiving the mother of all lectures as Harvey didn't approve of breaking and entering, he much preferred it when Lennox coloured within the lines.

Her fingers gently rapping on the arms of the chair that she was sitting in, Lennox briefly glanced down at her wristwatch and took note of the time, time was getting on and yet there was still no sigh of Harvey but he would have to come back eventually. Lennox would continue to wait, no matter how long it took. But it seemed like the waiting wasn't going to last much longer as from where Lennox sitting she could hear a noise coming from the other side of the side of the door, the sound of a key being put in. Moments later in walked the man of the moment, looking as impeccable as always and radiating a heap load of confidence and self belief. Thankfully Harvey was alone tonight which Lennox was grateful for as the conversation she needed to have with Harvey was going to be awkward enough without Lennox having to get Harvey's companion to hang out in the bathroom for a few minutes. He hadn't seen her yet, not until he had switched on the lights and judging by the look on his face, Harvey wasn't too pleased to have such an unexpected late night visitor.

"Lennox what are you doing here? In my apartment at 1am of all times." Harvey began somewhat surprised at Lennox's appearance and all she could do was let out a wry smile as she stood up from the seat she had been sitting in for the last few hours.

"I tried to find you earlier but when I got to the office you were already gone for the day and I couldn't get access to your schedule and I know how you feel about me tracking your phone Harvey. I know that it's late but we need to talk." Lennox replied in weary tone of voice as she awkwardly looked around as she wasn't exactly sure how to go about doing this. Sure she had been planning this conversation in her head for the last few hours, imagining numerous ways that this conversation would play out, thinking of how Harvey would react to the news of what Lennox was about to tell him and what the next step would be. Lennox was actually nervous, she was feeling things that she typically didn't feel and it unnerved her every so slightly. Lennox couldn't remember the last time she felt anything that resembled nerves. This was going to be very difficult for Lennox to do but there was no running away from this, she had information that Harvey needed and if he found out what Lennox knew from somebody else, there would be hell to pay. Harvey would kill her and that was no exaggeration.

"And this couldn't wait until tomorrow? " Harvey questioned and Lennox shook her head as this was all too important to wait until the morning. Lennox watched as Harvey's eyes drifted away from her and to the glass of scotch that was sitting on the coffee table, she could see the little wheels turning in his head and how his expression on his face slipped from being annoyed to being worried. The last time Lennox had seen Harvey look at her like this was a little over five years ago, she had woken up in hospital after talking a fall and ending up with a concussion and a broken wrist. This was so not what Harvey assumed this was about, he was clearly thinking that this late night visit was because Lennox had fallen off the wagon and compromised her sobriety.

"I'm fine Harvey, I've not had a slip or anything like that… I'm still sober. The drink is for you although if I'm honest I could do with a stiff drink but I promised you that I would honour our deal. I know I can't work for you if I'm drinking again which is why I've been sober for 1,921 days. I know I have a problem and I'm dealing with it instead of being drunk every day. But that's not why I'm here, this can't wait I'm afraid." Lennox replied in a grim tone of voice as she knew that there was no way that she would be able to sleep with this still on her conscious, she had to unburden herself of this knowledge before she could do anything else. Lennox wouldn't be able to sleep, she wouldn't be able to make some kind of plan to protect Harvey until she had a talk with him and figure out what they needed to do. She needed to talk to him now, despite the late hour. Taking a deep breath Lennox stuck her hand into her battered but loyal messenger bag and pulled out a single file and handed it over to Harvey who took it with some minor reluctance. Lennox didn't blame him as inside this file contained all the information that Lennox had gathered when she began looking into Harvey's associate Mike Ross a few days ago. "Before you look inside the file Harvey, I need you to know that I tripled checked this three times. I wanted to be certain before I came to you and I am. Everything checks out. I haven't shown anyone else the information in this file, I wanted you to see it first."

"You looked into Mike?" Harvey slowly questioned and Lennox gave a brief nod as she watched Harvey give the file a brief read, flicking through the pages and scanning through everything that Lennox had found.

"He's not the only one I've looked into Harvey, I've done background checks on everyone at the firm. It's my job, isn't it? I may not be the fancy lawyer from Harvard who gets paid the big bucks but I take my job as your investigator seriously. My job is to help you out Harvey, to make sure you have everything you need for your cases and make sure that there is no stone left unturned. Last time I checked it was my job to protect you and your interests Harvey and to do that I need to know everything about the cases you work and the people you work with." Lennox stated with a small shrug of her shoulders as doing background checks was big part of her job, as her job was pretty much to make sure Harvey had all the information that he needed, that no nasty surprises popped up during a negotiation or court, on the rare instances Harvey took a case to trial. It was Lennox's job to protect Harvey and make sure he wasn't blindsided by anything and to do that, she needed to know the kind of people that Harvey was working with. In the past there had been people who Harvey had worked with who weren't as clean cut as they should have been, like the man Harvey had worked with at the district attorney's office before he moved to Pearson Hardman. Lennox knew all about that man, she also knew about Daniel Hardman, one of the named partners whose behaviour was very scrupulous and his actions resulted in Jessica Pearson becoming the managing partner of Pearson Hardman. Everyone had secrets, that much Lennox knew and if those secrets were going to effect anything that happened at Pearson Hardman than it was Lennox's business to find out what those secrets were. It wasn't something that Lennox took great pride in, digging into people's history and looking for their dirty secrets but it was part of the job and being an investigator was pretty much the only thing that Lennox was good at.

"Including me?" Harvey questioned and Lennox looked straight into Harvey's brown eyes and she knew that he was looking back at her, searching for any possible signs of deceit. Lennox was many things, including that of a liar but the only person in this world who she would never lie to was Harvey. Too much had happened between them for Lennox to ever to betray the man standing in front of her.

"Trust requires a little faith, isn't that what you told me the first time we met? You've never given me any reason to doubt you Harvey, you have always been honest with me, perhaps too honest with me at times so I trust you." Lennox retorted with a small smirk and in response Harvey smiled in return as he loosened his tie.

"I'm surprised you remember, you did after all have one hell of a concussion at the time." Harvey replied in a somewhat amused manner and Lennox awkwardly tugged at her right ear, a sure sign that she was feeling uncomfortable. There wasn't much that made Lennox feel awkward but having a conversation about her past was something that triggered that insecure feeling within Lennox. There wasn't many people who knew the truth about Lennox's past, barely anyone knew that before she had met Harvey Specter, Lennox Cameron was just that deaf girl who was getting her ass kicked in juvie every other day. The girl she used to be was something that Lennox had tried so hard to forget, her and Harvey rarely talked about the old days because just talking about the past rattled Lennox's cage and the two of them were always afraid that it would cause Lennox to go off the deep end again.

"What can I say? You made an impression…" Lennox quipped, forcing herself to laugh for Harvey's sake before turning away and walking over to the glass walls in Harvey's apartment that looked out to the balcony. They called New York the city that never slept and for good reason, for where Lennox stood even she could see that the city was bustling and not letting the late hour get in it's way. The city was as active ever and seemed to reflect the chaos and turmoil that was going on inside of Lennox's head. She couldn't avoid doing this any longer, Lennox had to say something.

"So Lenny, you've looked into Mike Ross and now you want to have a urgent talk with me about him. I'm guessing that you found out that he didn't Harvard or any other law school for that matter."

"You knew?" Lennox demanded turning around to look back at Harvey in absolute shock as she hadn't been expecting that. In fact Lennox would have never imagined that the tables had turned, she thought that things would be doing in a different direction. The way that Lennox had been picturing this awkward conversation was that when she told Harvey the news that his new associate Mike Ross hadn't gone to Harvard or any other law school, he would go ballistic. As in biblical ballistic, Lennox thought that Harvey would go through those stages of grief, you know… Denial, anger, acceptance etc… But that was happening. Harvey was rather calm about this whole Mike Ross thing, a bit too calm for Lennox's liking.

"Of course."

"Then what the hell is he doing at Pearson Hardman? If you knew that Mike didn't go to Harvard then why is he your associate? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there this huge rule that the firm have about the associates? You know the one about only hiring from Harvard? Unless the rules have changed recently I'm pretty sure the Harvard rule is still in play." Lennox began as whilst her mind was being blown over by the fact that Harvey knew about all of this, she needed to know why he was going along with it. Lennox couldn't walk away without getting some kind of answer, as much as she knew that she shouldn't get further involved in this mess than she already was, Lennox needed to know why.

"You work for Pearson Hardman and you didn't go to Harvard." Harvey couldn't help but point out and despite the late hour, Lennox's eyes rolled around in the back of her head. She couldn't believe that Harvey had the nerve to be making some kind of lame joke at a time like this. The man always had answer for everything, Harvey could probably talk the back legs off a donkey if that was even possible.

"I'm exempt from that rule because I don't actually work for Pearson Hardman, I work for you Harvey and I'm not a lawyer. Besides even I went to college and completed it unlike your little protégé who got kicked out from college for taking other people's exams. Apparently the kid was pretty good until he got caught and turfed out of college, something about taking an exam for the dean's daughter…" Lennox replied in a grim tone of voice.

"I know it's unconventional Lenny and maybe just a bit crazy but c'mon? If you should have seen all those stiff Harvard brats that I was interviewing you probably would have blown your brains out. There was nothing different about them all, they were all the exact same, I could have had more fun watching paint fry or watch Louis stare at his reflection giving himself a pep talk or whatever it is he does to make himself feel good but Mike? The kid is different, he's some kind of genius who remembers pretty much everything he sees and yes he didn't graduate from college or law school but he knows the law better than most people at Pearson Hardman. He's not like the rest of them who we laugh at, Mike's got potential… A bit rough round the edges but he's good Lennox, might need some potty training but he deserves a shot. He's a hell of a lot better than any other associate that I could have found, kind of reminds me of myself in a not so me way. Did you know he's taken the bar exam and passed? Several times…" Harvey explained and Lennox couldn't help but tilt her head to the side as she watched Harvey speak as there was something in the way that he spoke about this Mike Ross that unnerved Lennox in a way. Harvey believed in Mike, the great Harvey Specter was willing to risk so much on some kid he barely knew. It struck a chord with Lennox as it sounded very familiar.

"Is this some kind of charity case thing? Are you looking from some other poor innocent kid from the wrong side of the tracks to take care of since I'm no longer the kid who used to get her ass kicked everyday in juvie? Or the 21 year old who couldn't function without a drink?" Lennox questioned, sounding a lot harsher than she intended to. It was supposed to be an innocent enough question but it came out with a whole lot of venom. No doubt it was the last hour, when Lennox was tired she tended to get a lot more bitchy.

"I'm not even going to answer that one on the basis that it's a stupid question."

"Harvey you've just become senior partner, when Jessica finds out about this–" Lennox began as feeling the need to state out the obvious just for the sake of saying it so it was out there in the open. This was potentially a career ending move for Harvey if this came out and it would have devastating consequences for not only him but Pearson Hardman as well which could possible extend to Lennox.

"–Jessica isn't going to find out, no one is going to find out as they won't have any reason to suspect that Mike Ross isn't the real deal. Who else is going to do such a thorough and in-depth background check into Mike except you Lenny? No one. Nobody is going even entertain the idea of me hiring somebody who didn't go to Harvard a single thought. It's not as if your going to tell Jessica yourself Lennox." Harvey interrupted and despite how insane she thought all of this was, Lennox knew that Harvey was right. Her loyalty came to Harvey first and the man did have a point as nobody would think that Harvey was stupid enough to break one of the biggest rules at Pearson Hardman. Nobody would suspect a thing, unless there was reason to. Lennox was confused and tired, she didn't know what to do or what to say as she knew there was no convincing Harvey out of this. This was what Harvey did, he took big risks which is what made him the best closer in New York. Harvey was taking a chance on Mike, just like he took a chance on her all those years ago.

"Unbelievable. I wish I was capable of having your level of self assurance and arrogance." Lennox scoffed in loud manner as she walked back over to Harvey and took her file on Mike out of his hands and idly wondered into the kitchen, making her way over to the sink. Digging into the pockets of her leather jacket, Lennox pulled out a rather battered looking zippo lighter and holding the file over the sink, Lennox proceeded to push back the top of the lighter and set the file alight. She made sure to keep a good hold on the file until a significant amount was engulfed in enough flames to destroy the entire file. Lennox then dropped the burning file into Harvey's sink and watched as all her hard work burned away. She couldn't believe she had just done that, Lennox was colouring out of the lines and all she could do was sigh as if this all backfired, she would be in a lot of trouble. The kind of trouble that Lennox had been avoiding for the last twelve years.

"Lenny… You didn't have to do that."

"I work for you first and foremost Harvey and if you want to run with this then I'll back you. I'll always have your back whatever the play…" Lennox replied with a small chuckle that was rather forced on her part, it was all for Harvey's sake and not hers. Lennox needed to try and salvage her cool and unflappable nature. Deep down Lennox knew that it was too late for that but that didn't mean that she couldn't try.

"If you're worried about going to prison then don't be." Harvey stated with a reassuring smile but Lennox didn't take much comfort in that as somebody had said something along those lines to her a long time ago and she had naively believed them. Lennox shouldn't have done that because it had left her unprepared for what lay ahead for her, she had believed that there was nothing to worry about so being sentenced to nine months in juvenile detention and it had been a real shock to the system, even to someone like her. The idea of going back to some kind of state detention facility was unfathomable to Lennox, ever since she served her time as a minor, Lennox had been actively avoiding going back. There had been some minor things that were sort of illegal but for the most part Lennox had spent the last twelve years following the letter of the law and keeping her nose clean.

"I'm not worried about that."

"Liar, you forget how well I know you Lenny." Harvey retorted and Lennox just threw up her hands in exasperation, it seemed like Harvey had seen right through that denial.

"Juvie almost killed me Harvey and we both know that I'm not just talking in a physical way. I can't go through something like that again, I won't survive." Lennox wearily replied, her voice crackling ever so slightly as she thought back to the times where she was a kid and used to get the crap kicked out of her every other day in juvie. It was a never-ending thing and Lennox had never really fully recovered from it and she had to turn away because Lennox didn't want Harvey to see her like this. Sure Harvey had seen her at her absolute worse in the darkest of Lennox's days but she couldn't deal with Harvey seeing her upset. Naturally Lennox couldn't help but fiddle with her ear as this whole situation was making her rather uneasy. She didn't say anything when Harvey came and stood beside her, at this point words were lost for her and this was something she couldn't fix. This went way above her job description.

"Not going to happen. I would never let anything like that happen to you ever again Lenny, I have your back just like you say you have mine and we both know that I'd get you off in heartbeat. Now go home and get some sleep Len, you look like crap." Harvey stated and Lennox allowed herself to look over to him and there was such a sincere look in his eyes that Lennox couldn't help but believe him. Whilst Lennox was a bit of a sceptic that this whole situation wasn't trouble, she would be put her faith in Harvey Specter once again. Lennox couldn't help but laugh as that seemed to be the only thing she could do. She didn't drink anymore so Lennox couldn't help herself to a stiff drink, laughing was the only reasonable response as this had been the most insane conversation of her life and she was going along with this whole Mike not being a real lawyer thing. Life certainly was interesting with Harvey and he knew it given the cat ate the canary smirk on his face.


End file.
